How to Project Your Voice When Speaking Without Straining It

Let me show you how to project your voice when speaking without straining it with just three simple steps. The best part is that your body can already do it. Let me show you how. 

Many of my clients find themselves with a hoarse voice or scratchy feeling in their throat after talking to friends at a loud party or presenting to a group of people at work. And maybe you experienced it too. You go to a noisy restaurant to have fun with your family or a bunch of friends and before the dinner is over, you feel a sore throat from talking too loud.

Or maybe you have to teach or present to a group of people in a large room without proper amplification and before you know it, your voice feels strained from having to raise your voice to be heard at the back of the room. Common scenarios that many of us have experienced.

How to Project Your Voice?

There are different ways to “project” your voice and some of these methods put strain and stress on the vocal folds, making your voice feel tired and your throat sore or scratchy. When you create high breath pressure, the natural reaction of the vocal folds is to close tighter, which may also trigger false vocal fold constriction or constriction of other vocal structures. When using your voice in this way frequently or over prolonged periods of time, you can actually get your voice into trouble.

If you are experiencing vocal strain, tension or even pain when speaking, and you are ready to work towards a free, strong and confident voice, you can apply to our Vocal Freedom System coaching program. Click here to schedule a chat with me. 

Lombard reflex

And it’s not your fault. It’s the Lombard reflex, which is an involuntary tendency of speakers to increase their vocal effort when speaking in loud noise to enhance the audibility of their voice. Whenever you find yourself in situations where you feel that you are not heard well, such as loud environments or large spaces, this reflex kicks in and your body reflexively increases vocal effort at the level of the vocal folds. You increase the breath pressure under the vocal folds, which makes them work extra hard. But there is a better way to increase loudness without straining your voice.

And your body already knows how to do it when you are calling someone from a distance or when you are warning someone about danger. Healthy calling is a natural human activity that our body knows how to do safely. In these situations you add vocal power with minimal stress on the vocal folds. Healthy calling has three very important components.

How to Project Your Voice in 3 Steps

Step one: Prepare your body

Any sound of high intensity or a loud sound requires high effort in the body to support the small muscles in the larynx. You would not expect loud noises to come from relaxed bodies. Therefore, we need to create a stable and strong framework to project your voice. So, prepare your whole body into a state of readiness. Your body is engaged and ready to take on any vocal task. Just imagine being on the stage and giving a speech to a huge audience. You have an important message to share. What does your body have to do? You feel tall and wide, your postural muscles are working. Your breast bone is lifted and your chest is open. Very good.

Step two: take a small and silent breath. 

Many people think that loud sounds require high lung volumes, which would mean taking big breaths in. But this is a myth that turns a healthy call into a vocal behaviour that strains the vocal folds. Just think about it. When you walk on the street and there is a distracted child about to walk onto a road, you shout “stop” without any preparation, without taking a big breath. There is no time for big breaths. It’s a very quick and reflexive behaviour that uses small lung volumes. 

Remember, if you are inhaling audibly, your throat is already constricted or not fully open. Therefore, I highly recommend that for high intensity vocal tasks use silent breaths. Or if you have a tendency to feel strained or constricted when speaking, practice silent inhalation to set up for success.  

Step three: Shape the vocal tract

Healthy calling is achieved by shaping the vocal tract in a very specific way to boost higher frequencies in the sound signal. This specific shape brings the vocal folds together and maintains them closed for a longer period of time. When the vocal folds are closed longer, the sound becomes louder. But not as a result of more air in the lungs but as a result of changing the vocal tract shape. And if this sounds complicated, don’t worry. We are going to shape the vocal tract with a simple head position: a slight head tilt. Tilt your head back, just slightly like you are looking up over a crowd of people. Not like you are looking up to see the stars in the sky. Easy, right? 

Watch the video below for demonstrations.

Link to the video: https://youtu.be/Zsov0NquvUk